Fantastic good fun!

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2013)

Simply put - I loved every minute of it! I have a wide appreciation for all genres of movie, and what I love more than anything is a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin.... and this movies does that in spades!
I recently read a review from someone who gave Pacific Rim 1 out of 10, and said something along the lines of, "I like mature films, so this is terrible". Yes, well, one look at the trailer should've been more than sufficient to let that particular reviewer know what they were going to see. Yes it's loud. Yes it's big, brash and at times a little brainless, and has more that it's fair share of clichés (although I prefer to call them homages!) but that's what this kind of movie is all about.
That said, I would say there is a little more brain and emotion in this movie than in other films of this type, and all the better it is too as a result. Sure there are plenty of elements from other movies all present and correct. There's a bit of Independence Day, a bit of Transformers, and bit of Top Gun, a bit of the Matrix, even a bit of Inception, but frankly who cares? This movie has NEVER set out to be anything more than it is - a full on crazy action movie about huge mechanical exoskeletons fighting huge alien monsters. Not every movie needs multiple layers of complexity to be considered as good.
The CGI and practical effects are some of the best I've ever seen in any movie, the casting is absolutely fine in my opinion, and the script is perfectly adequate for this type of film.
It's very easy to pick holes in movies like this, such as saying, "why don't they just fire missiles at the Kaiju instead of fighting them hand to hand", etc, but that would kind of defeat the whole purpose of the film, and at the end of the day, going to the movies is all about suspending disbelief for a couple of hours of your life. I think too many people have forgotten how to simply enjoy a film at face value without feeling the need to criticise something.
That said, the only thing I felt that was slightly incongruous was the comedic scientist duo. I did find them quite amusing, but when they appeared for a scene they just didn't seem to sit all that well with the incredible action sequences involving the Jaeger's and Kaiju. But that's the only slight negative point I can think of. (One star off for this point).
If this movie had been made when I was 15 it'd instantly be my favourite film of all time. As it is, and with me with an extra 20+ years on my age, it still ranks as a truly great film OF IT'S KIND, in my book. Of course it's not the Godfather, it's not Citizen Kane, it's not Schindler's List, but what it IS is a master class in how to do the "big boys toys" action genre.
See it in IMAX (as I did) and simply revel in the rib-rumbling noise and eye-popping action. For what it is, it's very VERY hard to beat.